Woodland police detectives are working to solve a Valentine's Day robbery that saw the theft of more than a dozen iPads used by developmentally disabled adults for learning.

Woodland Community Options, located at 1540 Tanforan Ave., in Woodland, was broken into on Friday, Feb. 14, when 13 iPads used by low-income Yolo County adults with disabilities were taken.

The equipment is worth an estimated $10,400, said Steve Bergman, CEO of United Cerebral Palsy of Sacramento and Northern California, the umbrella under which Woodland Community Options operates.

"We've had to file a claim with our insurance company," explained Bergman. "We're waiting for that to be processed. It could take 90 to 120 days to get a check back to us. That's all we can really do at this time. That would be like you or I not having our laptop or our cell phone for 90 to 120 days and how detrimental that would be."

The iPads were purchased last summer with a grant from the Yocha Dehe Wintun Indian Nation. Bergman said it's a "double whammy" that another community supporter "got the bad end of it, too."

Around 25 of Woodland Community Option's 50 clients used the iPads on a regular basis. The systems included special software for students to learn to read, play learning games and improve their ability to communicate.

The theft has been devastating to these adults, some of whom are not able to understand why their new and empowering devices were taken away, according to the agency.

"They love it. It's part of their day process, their day program," said Bergman. "We're trying to introduce technology all throughout our program, and Woodland seems to be really taking the lead on it. We think it's important that they be tech savvy, just like we like to be tech savvy. They are pretty sharp cognitively."

Many of Woodland Community Options clients are non-verbal, and the iPads help with skill building and communication process, Bergman added. It can be as simple as pointing to a picture of water to say "I'm thirsty," he said.

One of the clients used her toes with the iPad because she didn't have the use of her hands.

Anyone with information about this robbery is encouraged to call the Woodland Police Department at 661-7879.